Does any one have one of these tape players they dont need. It doesnt have to work. Basically I want the veneer strip along the front as the one one my otherwise mint BM6000 has a 1cm bit missing on the corner and this really lets it down. It can be as beaten up and non working as you like as long as the front veneer is good and complete.

Thanks

Hi Richard

I thought that I might be able to help you with this one but now, I am a bit confused as to what you want.  In these tape decks, the veneer is glued to three sides of the top frame and unlike other models, the sides and front cannot be separated.  So, if you have got a bad front and good sides then you will need to find a donor unit that is perfect all round - assuming that you will replace the entire top panel.  The only other thing that I can think of is that you intent to remove the front veneer from the donor unit  - a task that I have failed to do successfully myself.

What ideas do you have in mind now??

Regards

Geoff

My plan was to remove the veneer from the front. I was thinking that a hair dryer to warm up the glue and a scalpel would remove it quite easily. I've seen plenty with peeling veneer and didn't think it would be to difficult, have I underestimated this?

A hairdrier and a hobby knife is exactly what is mentioned in the tech notes for replacing veneer pieces.
The glue can be reused and you can move a veneer piece several times if you are careful.
(This does not work with all older models).

Martin

I have experimented with the technique of removing veneer, in exactly the same way as you have outlined Martin.  As I mentioned before, I didn't have a great deal of success because even when you get 95% of the covering off properly, there always seems to be a tough spot which tears, splits or holes.  Fortunately, I have always been in a position where the quality of the bit coming off has never been 100% important but I relished the challenge in any case.  When the piece coming off finally broke, I always had the new piece to put on in its place.  Veneering from new is a good way to go but it never quite has that "authentic" B&O feeling even though some of my results looked pretty good.

Another point to remember is that the grains and colourings of different machines can be different to the extent that it becomes a bit annoying.  I had a darker front placed alongside two lighter sides on a beomaster 2400 and even though no one else noticed the fact, it always seemed to standout to my eyes.  Eventually, I replaced all three sides with a new veneer covering and was far more relaxed thereafter.

I will be interested to hear what you decide to do. Richard

Regards

Geoff

Can you not carefully fill and colour in? I know this would be a skilled job but maybe worth a try?